We've seen more GeForce 9600 GT cards than we would like to honestly admit. The bottom line is, though, that the card does offer some excellent value for money and if you don't have the budget to buy new high-end cards like the Radeon HD 4870 or GeForce GTX 280 and GTX 260, the GeForce 9600 GT still remains a very good option. Today we're going to take the time to check out the latest GeForce 9600 GT incarnation from ECS and see what it has to offer over the competition. In a time where bundles and overclocks separate brands, we see if the latest version from ECS can stand out. Now let's get straight into the package from ECS and see what it offers. - TweakTown

ECS GeForce 9600 GT 512MB Graphics Board Review

We can see the front of the box uses a Frontlines Fuel or War theme which is a recently released game. Across the top of the box we have mention that the card is from ECS along with some NVIDIA logos. Down the bottom we have some of the main features the card offers. Above that we have the model along with the THQ logo and a game rating. Towards the middle of the box we see mention of the 512MB of GDDR3 memory and two dual link DVI connectors. Turning the box over, we have a little bit more detail on the card in a number of languages. We also have some minimum system requirements listed as reference.

Continuing on with the Frontlines theme, the sticker on the card has a picture of the game along with the brand and the model. This particular model does carry with it a single slot cooler which takes up just about the whole card. We have a small fan to the left that helps keep the core cool. At the back of the card we have a single 6-pin power connector hidden underneath the back of the heatsink. Moving along the top of the card, we have a single SLI connector along with another connector that is needed if you want to get the sound through the HDMI connector included in the package.

ECS has decided not to overclock the limited edition Frontlines card, so it carries with it the default 650MHz core, 1625MHz shader clock and 1800MHz effective memory clock on the included 512MB of GDDR3 memory. The GeForce 9600 GT really has become a great valued product for people who are gaming on older monitors at a standard resolution with high detail. If you're happy to drop the detail to the medium levels, though, you should get a decent game experience at a bit higher resolution. While ECS haven't done much with the card, the inclusion of not only a full version game, but a recent one is excellent news.

The only real problem we have with the video card is the availability in the land down under, but that's not really ECS' fault. It's not uncommon for companies to release cards with a certain game bundle to specific regions. Fortunately, if you're looking for a GeForce 9600 GT and wouldn't mind a copy of Frontlines for a few extra dollars, you're not going to have any issues finding one in the states with companies like Newegg listing them as in stock. The ECS GeForce 9600 GT is a good choice for people who are looking for a mid-range graphics card and a game that they might actually play and enjoy as such.

It's so often we find ourselves looking at game bundles and walk away feeling a bit underwhelmed. It's good to see that ECS are keeping track of what's new on the market and hopefully they follow suit with future graphics card releases. This is an excellent GeForce 9600 GT for people living in the US who are looking for a graphics card that comes with a they might actually want.